CBS picks new ‘60 Minutes' boss amid persistent concerns about Paramount shake-up
Instead, the coveted executive producer job is going to Tanya Simon, a 25-year veteran of the newsmagazine, which has faced intense political pressure from President Trump for nearly a year.
Simon took charge on an interim basis last spring when the program's longtime leader Bill Owens resigned under pressure last spring.
The promotion became official on Thursday morning when CBS News president Tom Cibrowski announced her new title at the network news division's daily editorial meeting.
Simon 'understands what makes '60 Minutes' tick,' Cibrowski said, praising her depth of experience with the program, which is America's highest-rated newsmagazine.
Inside CBS, serious questions persist about potential corporate interference in news coverage. After Trump filed a legally dubious lawsuit against CBS News over a '60 Minutes' interview of Kamala Harris last fall, journalists felt that the network's parent company Paramount did not fully back them up.
Throughout the winter and spring, as '60 Minutes' continued to produce sharply reported segments about Trump's return to office and the impacts of his actions, news executives repeatedly clashed with Paramount bosses over the content of the program.
Getting and keeping '60 Minutes' on the air was a week-by-week challenge, people at the network told CNN at the time.
When Owens stepped down in April, he said it had become clear 'that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,' to 'make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience.'
Simon, the daughter of the late '60' correspondent Bob Simon and the executive editor of the program for the past six years, stepped up as an interim executive producer.
'60 Minutes' is currently on its annual summer hiatus, which means CBS is airing encore episodes while teams are hard at work on new reports for the fall and beyond.
Earlier this month, Paramount struck a $16 million settlement deal with Trump to resolve his '60 Minutes' lawsuit, and was widely criticized for doing so.
Journalists at the newsmagazine have ongoing concerns about what pressures Simon might face as executive producer. Nevertheless, her promotion on Thursday came as a relief to staffers.
CBS noted that Simon 'is the fourth executive producer in the broadcast's 57-year history, and the first woman in the role.'
In a press release, Simon said she is deeply committed to the newsmagazine's historic 'level of excellence,' and 'I look forward to delivering an exciting season of signature 60 stories that cover a wide range of subjects for a broad audience and engage viewers with their world.'
New episodes of '60 Minutes' are slated to begin airing on September 28.
By then, CBS might be closer to having a new owner. Paramount is in the process of merging with Skydance Media, but the deal requires Trump administration approval, and the review has been taking an unusually long time.
Earlier this week, in an apparent effort to win the administration's blessing, Skydance told the FCC that if allowed to take over Paramount, it will hire an ombudsman at CBS and will take complaints about bias seriously.
The company also pledged not to implement any of the 'DEI,' or diversity, equity and inclusion, policies that Trump has condemned.
FCC chair Brendan Carr, a Trump loyalist, shared Skydance's commitments with associates on Tuesday — a possible signal that he was pleased. When asked by CNN if he is now any closer to approving the merger, he did not respond.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Tyrant
3 minutes ago
- Geek Tyrant
Kevin Eastman Compares TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN Movie to Frank Miller's DARK KNIGHT — GeekTyrant
Kevin Eastman, the co-creator of the beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , recently gave fans an exciting update on the anticipated live-action adaptation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin . Drawing comparisons to Frank Miller's iconic Batman: The Dark Knight Returns , Eastman revealed interesting insight into what fans can expect from the upcoming gritty R-Rated film. During San Diego Comic-Con, Eastman spoke with ComicBook, confirming his involvement as a consultant for the film adaptation of The Last Ronin, the acclaimed five-issue miniseries he co-wrote with comic writer Tom Waltz. The story explores a dark, dystopian future where a lone surviving Turtle embarks on a relentless mission to avenge his fallen brothers by confronting Oroku Hiroto, the grandson of their legendary foe, Shredder. Eastman expressed his appreciation for Paramount and Nickelodeon's dedication, saying: 'They do not have to bring me in to be involved in any parts of anything, but they bring me in for the comics, the cartoon shows, [and to] consult on the movies, especially The Last Ronin. I just adore that, and they're wonderful.' While Eastman has communicated with screenwriter Tyler Burton Smith ( Boy Kills World ), he was cautious about confirming if the movie would officially receive the initially reported R-rating. He shared: 'I'm really excited what they're doing and what they're going to do with it. They're all saying it's going to be R-rated, but until you know officially, we'll wait for word from them.' When asked if the movie might tie into previous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film adaptations, Eastman described how The Last Ronin creatively mirrors the standalone nature of Miller's Dark Knight : 'What I've been told in the discussions, as limited as they are, is that what they loved about Last Ronin — because Last Ronin, to me, was a love poem to Frank Miller's Dark Knight. 'All things Batman exist in Dark Knight, but it was set in a universe just to the left [of canon]. So they didn't have to play by all the lineage rules … they were able to tell a story all within itself. And with The Last Ronin, we took that same approach, but it leans heavily on the Mirage Universe.' For Eastman, the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 from 1984 signifies "the beginning," and The Last Ronin represents "the end," making it an ideal self-contained narrative. "It's my understanding that's the approach they're going to take, and good for them, and wise. I think it's the right way to go." Expanding upon this gritty vision, Eastman and Waltz have dubbed the expanding storyline the 'Ronin-verse,' featuring spin-offs like The Last Ronin: The Lost Years , The Last Ronin—Lost Day Special , and the upcoming sequel The Last Ronin II: Re-Evolution. Walter Hamada, former DC Films president and executive producer of projects such as The Batman and The Suicide Squad , is on board as producer. His involvement further suggests the project's commitment to a mature, intense cinematic experience, marking a thrilling return to live-action Turtles for the first time since 2016's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows . Stay tuned for further updates on this exciting new chapter in the TMNT saga!
Gizmodo
3 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
‘Shelby Oaks' Drops a Freaky First Trailer
When Mike Flanagan signs onto a debut horror film as an executive producer, that's going to make genre fans sit up and take notice. Shelby Oaks hits theaters in October, and not only does writer-director Chris Stuckmann have Flanagan's stamp of approval, but he also now has an excellently chilling first trailer to further entice spooky-cinema junkies. Using what looks to be a blend of narrative and found footage, not to mention true crime and ghostly terrors, Shelby Oaks follows Mia (Camille Sullivan) on her increasingly disturbing search for her missing sister—who we see poking around an abandoned, supposedly haunted town as part of a paranormal investigation. It's a mystery that Mia's determined to solve, even as all signs seem to indicate she should stay as far away from Shelby Oaks as possible. Distributor Neon is doing a little bit of Longlegs-style finessing with its marketing, releasing a series of teaser posters that are both alarmingly enigmatic and undeniably full of dread: The rest of the cast includes Brendan Sexton III, Michael Beach, and the legendary Keith David. Shelby Oaks, which marks the debut of film critic turned filmmaker Stuckmann, had its premiere at last year's Fantasia International Film Festival. It hits theaters October 3. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
CNN
4 minutes ago
- CNN
How Texas' redistricting effort is having major implications across the US
Congressional news Donald TrumpFacebookTweetLink Follow The outcome of the political battle over Texas' redistricting effort is already having major implications across the country. Other Republican-dominated states are considering following Texas' lead as Democratic governors weigh their options to retaliate with their own mid-decade redistricting efforts. The Texas legislature, meanwhile, is at a standstill after House Democrats fled the state in a bid to block the Republican effort to redraw congressional districts in the GOP's favor. President Donald Trump has pushed the redistricting effort, and Gov. Greg Abbott called the 30-day special session in which the GOP unveiled proposed maps that could shift as many as five US House seats into the Republican column. Abbott is now threatening to remove the Democratic lawmakers who left the state in a bid to block the House from voting on those new maps. Here's a look at what's happening in Texas, and why it matters: Congressional district lines are required to be redrawn once a decade, after the census. But mid-decade maneuvers like the one in Texas are unusual. Texas Republicans want to pad the US House GOP majority ahead of next November's midterm elections by increasing the number of seats Democrats need to flip — currently three — to claim House control. Democrats face a much stiffer challenge in winning back the Senate. But if they win the House majority, it would give the party a foothold for Trump's final two years in office. Democrats could slow or halt the president's legislative agenda and use House committees to investigate his administration's actions, much as they did in the last two years of Trump's first term, from early 2019 to early 2021. The proposed maps unveiled last week by Texas' majority-Republican legislature would aggressively redraw the state's congressional districts to make five seats much more likely to favor GOP candidates. The new Texas map features 30 districts that Trump would have won in 2024 if the map was in place, up from 27 under the current district lines. In total, there are five more seats that Trump won by more than 10 percentage points, according to data from the Texas Legislative Council. The proposed map eliminates the seat of Rep. Greg Casar, who would likely be forced into a primary with another liberal Democrat, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, in the Austin area. Republicans also propose merging the Houston-area seat of Rep. Al Green with a vacant seat held by the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died in office earlier this year. Green's district was altered more than any other sitting member in the plan. The map would also make two south Texas seats held by Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez more Republican-leaning. But multiple Democrats view the seats as still in reach for the two centrist members who typically performed ahead of statewide or national Democrats. Democrats are in the minority in the Texas House, but they hold enough seats that they can deprive the chamber of the number of legislators necessary to do business under House rules. That's why many fled the state on Sunday, with most flying to Illinois and others traveling to New York, outside the reach of Texas law enforcement. The departed lawmakers could face $500-a-day fines that can't be paid with campaign funds — though the House Democrats and their supporters are already raising money to help cover those fines. Former US Rep. Beto O'Rourke told CNN his political action committee, Powered By People, which raised more than $700,000 for state House Democrats during a quorum-break in 2021, will 'raise whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to help these Texas Democrats with their lodging, with being able to feed themselves, supporting them with these $500-a-day fines.' 'We have their backs all the way,' he said. Meanwhile, Democratic governors in deep-blue states are plotting retribution. The governors of California, Illinois, Maryland New Jersey and New York have suggested they will explore redrawing their own congressional district maps to add more Democratic-leaning seats, or left the door open to doing so. 'The gloves are off, and I say, bring it on,' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday. Once a critical swing state, increasingly red Ohio is required to redraw its congressional districts this fall because the 2022 map was struck down as unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court. The makeup of the Buckeye State's high court has changed since that ruling, and the new court is seen as much more likely to green-light a map that favors Republicans, who hold 10 of the state's 15 congressional seats. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently floated the idea of a mid-cycle redistricting in his state, too. 'I think the state malapportioned,' he told reporters in July, adding it would be 'appropriate to do a redistricting here in the mid-decade.' Punchbowl News reported the White House is pushing Missouri to redraw its districts to target one of just two Democratic-held seats, that of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, in a state where the GOP holds the other six House seats. The White House has also urged Indiana to redraw districts in which Democrats hold two of nine seats. Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan's northwest Indiana district would likely be the target if the Hoosier State were to do so. The redistricting battles cannot carry on without deadlines. In many states, including Texas, candidates must file for next year's primary ballots before the end of this year. Abbott on Monday indicated he could seek more extreme measures than daily $500 fines to try to force Democrats' hands or circumvent their quorum-break. He threatened to remove Democrats from the state House if they don't return by 4 p.m. ET, when the legislature is scheduled to convene in Austin. Abbott told Fox News that the Democratic lawmakers had 'absconded' from their responsibilities. 'I believe they have forfeited their seats in the state legislature because they're not doing the job they were elected to do,' he said. CNN's David Wright, Kaanita Iyer, Sarah Ferris and Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.
